The Foreign Secretary, Yvette Cooper, has strongly criticised both Iran and Russia for their attempts to disrupt the global economy, particularly as oil prices have surged past $100 a barrel.
Iran’s newly appointed supreme leader has made a bold commitment to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed.
This crucial waterway is vital for global oil shipments, and such a blockade poses serious threats to international energy supply chains, especially as a response to military actions taken by the United States and Israel.
Cooper has expressed concern that this ongoing blockade could significantly increase inflation rates worldwide.
She highlighted the connection between Iran’s actions and Russia’s ongoing disruptive tactics on the international stage, which further complicates the economic landscape. Meanwhile, Britain and its allies are facing a deepening cost-of-living crisis.
With both energy and food prices projected to spike, markets are on high alert, signalling potential economic instability for the foreseeable future.
She told the Press Association in Saudi Arabia: “We have seen these links between Russia and Iran over an extended period of time.
“We’re seeing it in terms of technology, we see it in terms of the approach, we see it in terms of these kinds of tactics, and we see it in terms of the way these two states try to support each other and try to benefit together from attempting to hijack the global economy.”
She added: “We are very clear about the threat from both Russia and from Iran to the global economy and to all of our wellbeing.”
Despite this, Cooper did not criticise the Trump administration for easing sanctions on some of Russia’s oil.
On Friday, the US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wrote on X: “This narrowly tailored, short-term measure applies only to oil already in transit and will not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government.”
Energy Minister Michael Shanks made it quite clear that the British government will not follow Washington in easing sanctions.
Shanks told Sky News: “The UK has been really clear that our sanctions on Russia stay in place. This is a moment where I suspect in the Kremlin they are looking at this as an opportunity to fix some of their ailing economy.
“That is a great shame, because we have to do everything that we possibly can to make sure that we are bringing all pressure to bear on Russia so that we can win this war in Ukraine.
“It’s really important that we don’t do anything that can assist the Russian war machine right in the middle of a really critical moment in this conflict against Ukraine.”
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